A research and scientific dissemination project by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), carried out with the support of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and in collaboration with the Leganés City Council, uses surveys conducted by high school students, interviews with experts, and historical documentation to analyze how the municipality transitioned from being an agricultural and neighborhood-oriented environment to a city dominated by large commercial areas and housing. Furthermore, the report reveals a loss of youth leisure spaces and local retail networks, which have been replaced in recent decades by supermarkets and real estate developments.
What remains of the Leganés of neighborhood cinemas, iconic nightclubs, and the vegetable gardens of San Nicasio? The answer lies in the results of the project "The recovery of the collective memory of Leganés through citizen science," whose findings were partially presented at a recent seminar on citizen science held at UC3M entitled: "Citizen scientists: from theory to practice." According to its authors, this study combines the rigor of social sciences with the participation of the neighborhood community itself, involving different generations (especially those who inhabited the municipality since the 1940s) to demonstrate that the history of a city is not only written in official archives, but also in the daily experiences of its residents.
"The memory of a city does not live only in archives; it lives in people. This project focuses on the testimonies of those who have inhabited Leganés, giving their stories their own significance, as they are sources of knowledge just as legitimate as any historical document," states the project coordinator, Antonio Eleazar Serrano López, from the Department of Library and Information Science at UC3M. "Cross-referencing citizen testimonies with the collections of the Historical Archive of Leganés has allowed us to obtain a portrait of the city that is more honest and complete than what any single source would offer. Citizen science, when applied with rigor, produces top-quality knowledge," he concludes.
One of the pillars of the project has been its methodological approach, based on citizen science. A total of 152 surveys of residents of various ages were conducted directly by high school students from IES Siglo XXI, a public high school in the San Nicasio neighborhood. This youth fieldwork, combined with in-depth interviews with local experts (past and present members of different associations in the municipality), was cross-referenced through triangulation techniques with the documentary heritage of the Historical Archive of Leganés. "The fact that the students of Leganés themselves collected a large part of the information is the essence of the project: young people acting as researchers, connecting generations and recovering a memory that otherwise ran the risk of being lost," adds Antonio Eleazar Serrano López.
Most frequented places in the present and the past
The report analyzes the evolution of neighborhood meeting points, comparing the most frequented places in the past with those of today. The data reflects a shift in the social paradigm: while in the past the inhabitants of Leganés heavily prioritized urban public and outdoor spaces (such as Plaza de España, Fuente Honda, or Polvoranca Park), today the Parquesur shopping center has established itself as the most visited and highly frequented location in the entire municipality. On the other hand, sports facilities (such as La Cantera, the Europa Sports Center, or the Butarque Municipal Stadium) have gained notable relevance in current daily life.
The research comprehensively documents the disappearance of spaces with a high emotional and symbolic value for the "pepinera" identity. Among the extinct places most remembered by citizens, neighborhood cinemas stand out. Historic theaters such as Cine Avenida, Minicines Ideal, Capitol, Florida, or Durán, which were the cultural and leisure epicenter between the 1960s and 1990s, progressively disappeared after the opening of commercial multiplexes in 1989. Today, they have been mainly replaced by apartment blocks and supermarkets.
Nightlife venues for youth that shaped generations in the 80s and 90s, such as Doña Carlota in Zarzaquemada (now converted into a supermarket), the mythical Universal Sur (located on the island of the Parquesur lake), or the Ideal nightclub in Fuente Honda, have given way to betting shops, stores, or residential buildings. Reference recreational spaces such as the Solagua Pools (abandoned in the late 2000s), the Lagosur wave pool, and the old football stadium of C.D. Leganés (where the Plaza Mayor and the City Hall are located today) remain sharply engraved in the collective memory. The study also recalls that areas currently occupied by squares, courthouses, or schools were large vegetable gardens and dairy farms in the 1970s.
By processing these transformations through dynamic matrices, the UC3M team has drawn several conclusions about the city's development. For example, out of 24 spaces exclusively dedicated to neighborhood and children's leisure in the past (such as cinemas, arcades, or newsstands), only 5 are preserved today, and most have been converted into housing or supermarkets. In this regard, another trend detected in the report is the disappearance of traditional local commerce. Old shopping galleries, butcher shops, artisanal sweet shops (such as the remembered Tahona de Luaces), and food markets (such as the Río Jarama Market) have been replaced by the rise of large supermarket chains.
With this project, UC3M not only highlights the value of the oral memory of Leganés as a historical heritage that urgently needs protection, but also provides a highly useful scientific x-ray to reflect on urban models, the privatization of public spaces, and the need to preserve the cultural identity of the commuter towns in the south of Madrid, according to the research team. Furthermore, as another outcome of the project, a photography exhibition has been created, which can be visited in the hall of building 14 at the UC3M Getafe Campus until June 12, under the title: "Milestones, places and personalities of Leganés through photographs from the Municipal Archive," also organized with the support of the Faculty of Humanities, Communication and Documentation, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.